There was a massive explosion in downtown Nashville this morning.

What is known at this time:

• This was an explosive device, not Walter White’s meth van exploding. 
• The explosion was near AT&T headquarters, and much of the network was down today., and this triggered a shutdown of the airport.
  
• The bomb was in a white RV, which had speakers which told people to evacuate before the explosion.
• No confirmed deaths, but there were some hospitalizations.

What is not known at this time:

• Who.
• Why
• Details of the bomb.

Given the current spate of right wing terrorism in the US in the past year or so, that is the most obvious place to point fingers, but it could be just be some guy who really hates AT&T: (That’s a pretty big suspect list)

In the hours immediately following an urban explosion like the one that rocked Nashville on Friday morning, investigators are focused on two things: safety and collecting evidence.

“They’re really kind of determining how it happened, almost more so than why,” said Adam Hall, assistant professor in Biomedical Forensic Sciences at the Boston University School of Medicine.

“It’s difficult, if not impossible, to say how long it would take them to identify an individual or individuals of interest. But at the same time, whatever physical evidence is collected is likely being prioritized for analysis so at least they can determine the type of explosive that was used, because that can give some indication as to what the source may have been.”

………

Nashville authorities believe an explosion that occurred in downtown Nashville early Christmas morning was an “intentional act” and sparked by a vehicle.

Police came across a suspicious RV parked outside an AT&T building near Second Avenue and Commerce Street before 6 a.m., when initially responding to calls of shots fired in the area, said Metro police spokesperson Don Aaron.

The RV was playing a recording indicating it contained an explosive device and telling people to evacuate the area, police have confirmed.

Three people were hospitalized with injuries, police said.

………

Investigators’ first task is to make sure there are no secondary or tertiary devices in the area that could injure law enforcement or civilians, he said.

Though authorities said there are no indications of additional devices, police were going door-to-door with dogs in the downtown area to search nearby buildings Friday morning.

 Hopefully, we’ll have more information before the start of the work week.